All in the Timing
by Smench
Summary: Bella's best friend Alice leads her to meet a mysterious man who helps her realize it's okay to be lost. A story for anyone who has ever felt they're not good enough, come bundle up and join Bella on her journey to find herself, and at the same time, love
1. Chapter 1: Mr Frogurt

**Full summary:**** High school senior Bella feels like she's falling behind when she should have everything figured out. With her best friend, Alice's help she finds a mysterious man who helps her realize it's okay to be lost. A story for anyone who has ever felt they're not good enough, come bundle up and join Bella on her journey to find herself, and at the same time, love.**

**I wanna thank everyone who reads this! This is based on events that happened to me and after everyone finally telling me I wasn't good enough to write, or draw, or model, I got this story. I know where I wanna go with it and I hope that everyone will please join me!**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 1: Mr. Frogurt<strong>_

"Well."

"Yeah?" I ask. It's pointless, she's my best friend, my other half, and I know what's coming my way by now. She's asked me the same question everyday this week. Every time I have to fumble through my answer.

But Alice pretends this is all new.

"Did he call?"

"You need to stop pushing Al." I'm flushed, both from the heat and having to go through this embarrassing conversation again. "We both know it's not gonna happen."

The idea of having to go through the rest of my senior year alone, without a guy that sweeps me off my feet isn't how I'd ever pictured it but, after the summer had come and gone and I wasn't willing to settle, single wasn't sounding too awful. Alice on the other hand, was setting up her own Bella Swan dating service, and I was quite the demanding client. I wanted the full experience, with the perfect guy.

"Bella," Alice has never been one to save me from awkward answers. "You have to at least try, you can't blow every guy off."

I ignore her and flip through the book in front of me. Alice doesn't understand. Alice has Jasper, and Jasper is perfect to her and because of that, Alice has an unrealistic idea of what romance is supposed to be. Alice has tried to show me there's someone out there for me, she's gone with me to parties, and we've double dated to movies.

But nothing ever clicks.

No guy ever made me swoon and the more I dated, the less attractive I felt for being myself. No one could match my sarcasm, my witty comments only felt lame, and the fact that all the girls I saw happy with their boyfriends lately were covered with make up and loud personalities, it made me feel even worse.

I'd come to the conclusion God had sneezed when creating me, and now I was left with an awful sense of humor equal to my insignificant feminine qualities.

I felt invisible.

I've been trying to believe Alice's logic since I've known her. But now when she starts these conversations I only shrug and answer when I feel like she needs encouragement to keep going.

The girl has been on a mission to find my knight in shining armor since she transferred here two years ago. She's gorgeous with a killer closet and personality to match and, ever since she sat next to me in English, we've been inseparable. And Alice found Jasper quick, snatching up the Southern boy with just a look.

"Bella, I'm serious! This waiting can only mean that he's perfect and he's out there for you! You just need to show some effort in the dating department and you'll find him!" Alice is smiling and her eyes are glowing, she thinks she's won this conversation and the rights for Bella Barbie day.

"Well, then I'm done with this game of hide and seek" My snarky comment comes out fast and I'm proud my annoyance is so prominently displayed.

But there's no betting against Alice and she's quick with a comeback "Love's a game, you my Bella are just a player." She taps my nose and turns back to face the TV, efficiently ending the conversation and returning back to her love story.

"C'mon, I'm done watching you mope around with that stupid book." She pulls me up, strong for such a little thing and my abandoned book flips closed as it falls. Alice grabs my hand and her keys and before I know it, we're flying down the road listening to her small voice belt out songs.

I have to admit, Alice's car is a Goddess even I can appreciate. Her parents had refused to get her a car until she turned eighteen, too afraid she would follow her sister, Cynthia's path and they'd have to bury both daughters. And although Alice had whined and begged, the wait was worth it. Greeting her into adult hood was the yellow car she'd always dreamed of.

She'd never smiled so bright.

That being said, as far as life threatening experiences go, I'd have to say that Alice's driving was my limit and if she didn't already have a set career in fashion, the pixie could give Tony Stewart a run for his money.

"Bella!"

When I look over I should be met with the side of her face, but instead I'm staring smack into her eyes, her driving is scary enough when she's focused weaving through cars at a high rate. And now she's staring at me instead of the road.

"Alice Slow down! Eyes on the road! You're driving wicked fast! Not okay Al, Not okay at all. When the speed limit says 60 it means 60, not 90. I'm sure when Charlie put those signs there he wasn't intending for you to bulldoze over them."

_Charlie._

My stomach twinged at the acknowledgement of my father. I reach into my pocket and unlocked my phone.

No missed calls.

No new messages.

Nothing new.

It's nothing I shouldn't expect. My dad _loves_ me. I've repeated the steady mantra until I believe it, I start off simple and add in the little details each time.

He had to move.

He had to move to Phoenix because he wasn't over Renee.

He had to move and he left you here because he knew Renee could take better care of you.

He doesn't call because he's busy.

He's busy because he's at work.

I've told myself all of it so many times that the last one shouldn't really surprise me but my gut still clenches with the realization. He's busy. He tells me that he can't talk because he's at work. Then why do I hear laughing kids in the background? He's at the park, working on a case, I'm sure of it. He leaves me with the same response every time.

"I'll call you Friday Bells, I love you."

A promise to call _later._

And every time I'm left with disappointment, I think of things I'll say to him next time, the way the conversation will roll out.

"Last Friday? That was a month ago Dad. Did you finally take Mike fishing again? Did he finally catch his first fish? You still haven't taken me you know. You're always there watching him grow up. What about me?"

But most of all I wanna tell him how every thing I do reminds me of him. How much I try to be everything he isn't. I try to be better.

It proves useless, the similarities are engraved into me. Burned into my mind. Permanent.

Alice, pulls me out of my thoughts, having finally won the race against the unknown.

"Hey Debby Downer, c'mon we're here! I've been dying to come back to this place for weeks. Put your phone away, let's go inside and I'll pretend you listened to me the whole ride here. You know why?"

I raise an eyebrow at her and I'm sure normally she would lecture me for my less then perfect attitude. But right now, she sees my face and knows it's not what I need.

_No, what I need is inside in the form of chocolate. Lot's and lots of chocolate. _

"Because I'm here for you and I love you, more then that stupid prick is even possible of." Alice's dislike for Charlie isn't a secret and although she's usually more pleasant, I'm not offended by it. So instead of dwelling on being forgotten, I shut the door sealing away my thoughts and go inside the store in front of me.

"Hey Alice, last on is a rotten egg!" There's an agreement between the two of us that the rotten egg has to buy and, even though I know she would buy anyways, since her family is followed by a never ending flow of cash, the game has me giggling in no time.

I go to grab a bowl and I fill it up with my favorite flavor adding colorful sprinkles and then suddenly, Alice is behind me.

"Beeeella" she's whining but the smile is still there. "That's not fair you had a huge start, look at these little legs! How do you expect me to compete?" She points down at her 'little legs' and then laughs with me.

"Hey now! I have my own pair of little legs to worry about, no need to share! Plus you wouldn't have let me pay even if I did lose, you never do." It's a true enough fact, in two years she's let me pay for for anything once, and that's only because she forgot her purse.

I leave my small friend behind to go weigh my yogurt so I can finally indulge in my sweet mess. My sloppy pony tail whips back and forth while I walk to the counter.

"Hey there"

I'm reaching for the spoon, it's the only thing holding me back from the treat in front of me. And then suddenly a hand reaches out and snatches the container holding the spoons. I'm surprised , ready to do just about anything to get those spoons back and shovel my dessert. But when I look up, I'm met with the brightest pair of eyes I've seen around, and instead of the witty comment that was on the tip of my tongue, I just let a soft "Hey" tumble out.

"You know, it's not very nice to ignore someone." He looks down at me smiling, and I try to use this moment to my advantage. I reach to grab the spoons back.

But this man is quick and tall and he doesn't exactly have to stretch to keep them out of my grasp

I stare at him and I'm pretty sure he's challenging me so I speak up, "I wasn't ignoring you, I was just trying to please myself before I pleased you." Slowly, he brings the spoons down and I take one shove a few sprinkles into my mouth, and smile as the sweetness spreads.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was stopping you from _pleasing_ yourself" he thinks he's clever, his stupid cocky eye brow is quirked and, he's laughing by the time I'm red. So, he takes my embarrassment as a sign to continue the conversation.

"How are you?"

Well, that's a game changer. He asks the question like we're long time friends and I notice how personable he is. Is he this chatty with everyone?

Of course he is Bella. It's his job.

And even though somewhere in the back of my mind I hear Alice's chirping voice saying "Be exciting Bella, be happy, guys love fun girls", I still reply to him with a casual, "This week sucked." immediately after it slips out, I'm sure Alice will lecture me for it later but I wanna make it clear I'm not another one of them. I'm not fake and I'm not gonna play pretend to get his attention.

He raises his eyebrows, smiles and really, the only way to describe his response is impressed, "Oh really? Why's that?"

I'm about to tell him exactly why this week sucked. The fact that I can never do anything right, that I'm never pretty enough, I don't have a banquet date, that my grades are slipping but, Alice finally comes up to the register too and I'm reminded to 'play it cool'. So I stick with the least of my problems.

"I need to learn to drive a standard."

He looks at me and thinks about it, telling Alice the total and then sliding her card for her.

"I could teach you." He throws the offer out there like it's nothing, but then he makes this eye contact that's begging me to let him, and between shoving my yogurt into my mouth and looking at him I'm about to agree.

Then Alice jumps in, "Yeah that's great! You can call her and set something up."

At least the ideas out there in the open now. I'm blown away by the fact that I've spent five minutes flirting with a guy that I don't know but all in all, I'm excited for his response. So while I''m waiting, I really look at him, and I decide my first glance wasn't enough. He's tall and his lanky frame is covered by a grey sweater, and his hair.

His hair. At first I'm not sure what to think of it. It's a disaster, sticking up in ever direction with gel trying to hold it in place. Untamed. He's attractive. Extremely attractive. And it's at about this point I also realize we're leaning in towards each other.

Where I'm ready to just camp out here I notice he hasn't responded and that I'm scraping my spoon against an empty bowl.

_Man,_ _I didn't realize how hungry I was._

Followed by his awkward stare, I go throw my bowl away and Alice waves the keys in my face.

"Wanna drive home? I still need to eat the rest of mine." I take a last glance at him, frozen smiling dumbly at me and I can't help but think of how odd this whole situation is. As much as I want a response, I also love to drive her car, and with my luck in the guy area lately, I figure I'll have more luck with the yellow dream waiting for me in the parking lot. So, instead of an impromptu camping trip I snag the keys out of Alice's hand and run outside yelling out a "Bye thank you!" and leaving before he says anything.

Shortly after Alice and I are buckled in, she gives me a smile.

Maybe she's right, maybe I should show some effort in the dating department.

And maybe Mr. Frogurt could help that happen.

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><p><strong>Updates will probably be mostly on Sundays but the first few chapters will be up sooner to get the ball rolling and find out more on these two (:<strong>

**REVIEW please! See you soon!**


	2. Chapter 2: No longer a benchwarmer

Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! It meant a lot to me! For those of you who liked it I also started another story called **_Becoming a part of the Group_** and it's gonna be updated soon so go ahead and please try that out! I'm sorry the update was so slow, I had a big family emergency and I didn't have time or the place to update! With that said... Here you go!

**Oh and remember... I don't own Twilight.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: No longer a bench warmer<strong>

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><p>I chew on my lip to hide the excited smile until Alice starts questioning me and even then, it's not completely gone. To give Alice a taste of her own medicine I press on the accelerator harder and the car speeds full force home.<p>

"So what was that?" Alice smiled as she shoves more yogurt in her mouth. I can't help but smile back and roll my eyes at her antics, embarrassed that she's paying so much attention to the fact that I was talking to a boy. She ignores me and giggles through her mouthful, "Welcome back to the world. Where it's fun to flirt back. Well done!"

I frown at the way she still talked about my love life like it was a game. If it were a game, would I be considered the benchwarmer right now? No, I had obviously just stepped out onto the field. That made me a substitute. If only for a little while I wasn't a total loser. Unless I had just gotten played.

"So what's Mr. Flintstone's real name?"

_Mr. Flintstone?_

I'm confused. Confused in a way that only Alice ever brings me towards.

"Mr. Flintstone? I didn't ask his name, I didn't really think it was important." If I was being honest with myself, the reason I hadn't asked his name wasn't because it wasn't important to me. It was more then important to me and I wanted to be able to give the strange guy a name. The problem was, I didn't know how. I wasn't painfully shy anymore, Alice had easily beaten that out of me. But I still didn't know how to go along getting his name. Should I have just asked? Would that have led to an awkward handshake? I thought guys were supposed to do that part. Everything seemed to play out easily in books I read with out the girl being confused. Those Romance writers just didn't get it right.

Then again, what romance happens in a Frozen Yogurt shop?

_Romance? It wasn't a Romance, just a talk!_

But Alice interrupts my thought with her chipper voice.

"Yeah Mr. Flintstone, he can make your bed rock!" She starts laughing while she says it and I think it's one of those 'you gotta be there moments' teenagers have. "Not important Bella? When you're practically dry humping someone I would think you would be on a first name basis. Not even you can change that fast." She throws out a wink to lighten the mood. But I'm already red and she's having too much fun. She's almost as red as I am from laughing at her jokes and she's gripping at her sides.

Kids these days.

"I wasn't dry humping him! He stole my spoons! When I actually take the time to go out with you and get some food I want to eat it too, that's all" I pull into the drive way and we walk through the front door and plop back down.

"Bella. Bella. Bella. It's okay that you have some frustration. I know before Jasper-" Before Alice can continue I swat her with a pillow.

"I don't want to know! You're still a virgin to me! And these are virgin ears!" I know Alice and Jasper have had sex and it's really not a big deal to me as long as Jasper wraps it up. But I still don't want details about practicing for the future baby Whitlock.

"Those ears are gonna want to hear all this when they're preparing for your special night with those… _spoons_... but I'll wait to rub it in until then. You tried to dodge my question, what's your mystery man's name?" She pauses and walks into the counter and eyes the container on top "And what the hell is that?"

I walk up and snatch the note off the top of the container reading it aloud so Alice doesn't have to read it after me for her own curiosity.

_"Bella, Phil and I went out for some fun tonight. It's a Friday so curfew is 1:00, don't get too crazy. If not, I'll get crazy enough for the both of us. Here's some left overs for you and Alice! See you tomorrow (; _

_Love you both,_

_Your young mother oxoxo"_

The note rambles and has mistakes crossed out in purple pen. Typical scattered brained mom.

_Like mother like daughter._

Alice takes the container straight to the trash and grabs the number for pizza off the fridge.

"Pepperoni or cheese?"

We had cheese last Friday so the answers easy, "Pepperoni." Renee has our best interest at heart and she leaves us with food before she goes out each Friday night. Unfortunately, food is usually left up to Phil or me and even though she insist on "Leaving us prepared for the night" her food is always awful.

Alice spends the night almost every Friday night, she tells Jasper "Fridays are for fun, Saturdays are for sun." It doesn't make sense to me, sun? Unless Jasper is the sun… Or if Jasper's… But isn't that where the sun _don't_ shine? Then again, all that matter's is that he understands and he seems to understand.

While Alice orders the pizza, I go up to my room and pull off my jeans, replacing them with a pair of sweats and then do the same with my shirt. I grab a pillow, sit on it and slide down the stairs giggling. When I arrive at the bottom I try to creep into the living room as quietly as I can and I watch Alice plop down onto the couch to watch more TV. She's changed into her pajamas too. I stay behind the wall that separates the living room and the dining room until Alice pulls out her phone and starts clicking away. Then, I sink down to my knees and slowly crawl behind the couch where I plant myself behind Alice.

Usually, I probably not as childishly playful with her, but after my run in with the charming Mr. Frogurt, I'm feisty as ever. So I sit, and wait. When I hear the clicking stop and the TV keeps going again, I sit up a little taller. Then, I take the pillow and jump, ready to smack her on top of her head. But once again Alice is ready and she reaches past the pillow and grabs my arms. With a swift tug she's flipped me over the couch right next to her and I'm impressed with my tiny friend.

She looks at me and pokes my stomach, sticking her tongue out "Got you!" I sigh and grab my pillow grumbling as I lie my head down. "Yeah Al I know, you always got me." Instead of responding she jumps up and grabs her wallet, gracefully hopping to the front door.

"Pizza's here Bella!" By the time she gets to the door, the doorbell has just rung and she opens the door and greets the worker.

While Alice gets our pizza I face forward and try to catch up on whatever show she's watching but I find myself looking at my entertainment center surrounding the TV. Right next to it is a glass door, clearly reflecting right behind the couch. Where I would've been standing a few minutes ago ready to start my pillow attack.

Sneaky pixie, always one step ahead.

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><p><strong>Have you ever been a player? Tell me in a review!<strong>

**Recs: **

**Tunes with Tony Masen by Just4ALE**

**Go check it out! It's one of the best I've read! I don't wanna give too much away so all I can say is... "Spanish inquisition baby."**

**Living Dead Girl by MissJanuary**

**One of the best one shots that describes what would have to happen after Breaking Dawn! Check em' out!**


	3. Chapter 3: It takes two to tango

Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! It meant a lot to me! And I've started giving out teasers for the next chapter for those who do review!

So hey! I know this story is rated M **but** for those of you ho still wanna read it and just skip the sex parts, I'll just put a warning up here! Unfortunantely there's no sex this chapter but Bella does get a little hot and bothered! So if that's gonna offend you you should stop now and go read **_Becoming a part of the Group. _**Either way, it's nothing graphic and everyone should be good to go! Let's go!

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: It takes two to tango<strong>

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><p>The next few days passed quickly, home, school, home, out with Alice, home. I was falling into a steady routine with Alice and we'd been doubling up on our time together to make up more being apart this Friday. Alice, instead of dining on pizza and movies with me, had to go to a wedding where she'd be Jasper's date. Lucky blonde fellow. On Thursday she came over to see me off for the weekend. She kissed my cheek and squeezed me tight before eventually going and jumping in his truck.<p>

"Love you Bells!" Jasper grinned at her and then looked down at me, giving me a goofy grin before adding on a "Yeah Love you darlin" and winking at his sweetheart in the car.

I rolled my eyes at them and blew them both a kiss before going inside. Soon enough Alice and Jasper would be having their own wedding, I was sure of it. What beautifully odd couple. I walked into the living room, preparing myself for mother daughter bonding night and threw some popcorn in the microwave. Things couldn't get any weirder. Renee quality time and no Alice?

The shit just hit the fan

After a while, mom fell asleep and I was left alone with my thoughts. I sat looking at the screen and watched the main character shamelessly flirt with her waitress. I watched the whole display with wide eyes, eager to learn a few more helpful flirty tips.

When I'd finally caught on to licking my lips and making a good amount of eye contact I realized something. I was suddenly in the mood for a nice cold cup of yogurt. I darted up the stairs, threw on some mascara and curled the tips of my hair. If that wasn't trying, I didn't know what was.

I grabbed my keys and flew down the stairs, taking two at a time to make the distance shorter. When I reached the bottom and saw my mom's still sleeping form I looked down at her.

"Hey mom, I'm gonna go get crazy enough for the both of us for once." I whispered it like it was a dirty secret and when I got in my truck, I was still smiling with excitement.

_I can do this. I can do this._

I repeated the steady mantra until it was a constant beat in my head. And even then I just tried to convince myself it was true. I _could_ do this. More importantly I _had_ to do this.

When I arrived in front of yogurt patch I parked far away from the entrance. Figuring that any extra steps I had to walk to the front door were also precious seconds to help plan what I was going to say.

Just say 'hey'.

"Hey!" I tested it out in the rearview mirror. I was practically shouting at myself, not gonna work. Alright, next.

I blinked my eyelashes and looked up a little bit more. "Hey," It was breathy and smooth. But it also looked like I had a permanent twitch. What would Alice do?

After a few more awkward poses I'd come to my decision. Alice wouldn't sit here practicing poses with me in the car, Alice would just walk in and let whatever happens, happen. I look down at my phone and see that there's 20 minutes left until they close. Better late then never.

Time to be spontaneous.

I grab my keys and my phone and hop out of the truck. I look at the sign and all the colors littering the outdoors and my steady mantra beats louder in my head. A steady bas drum, I've always wanted background music in my life, no time like the present.

I walk in and he's leaned over the counter, working on some notebook, stretching with his arms flexed. He looks as good as last time but now, he has a pair of dark framed glasses adorning his eyes.

I look over at him and smile, I'm happy to see him, no matter stranger or friend.

"Hey, how are you?" _Smooth Bella, smooth._ It's better then any of the twenty things I practiced in my truck and it falls out effortlessly.

He looks up at me and smiles, finally acknowledging me and, inviting me in with his personality, dazzling me with his features.

"Blessed as always, how are you?" So he _was_ a charmer! Blessed as always? That was one response I'd never heard.

'Well you know, things could be better. But isn't that always the case?" I throw him a side smile and walked up to his counter area, pressing myself flush against the hard tabletop.

"Yeah? And how can I IMPROVE things for you" He's done doodling on his notebook now, he closes it and comes closer to me. Now we're only separated by this small counter top, score for Bella, back on the field I go.

It takes two to tango baby.

"Well, I never got that phone call." he looks at me, and raises a brow, then he looks back down at his notebook and grabs his pencil.

He responds off handedly "I never got anything to call." I smile up at him, I'm confident. He thinks he's won, and he's never been more wrong.

"You never asked." if Alice has taught me anything, it's to be one step ahead and with him I'm constantly reminding myself of that concept, nothing could have prepared me for his response. Not even my small friends' intuition.

He plays off his next move, he's wearing a cocky smile and since he's so darn tall he still towers me when he leans in further I'm almost eye level with him. And boy are his eyes gorgeous. They're a smoldering green, a color that had no comparison, they draw you in and hold you there for a minute, and it makes me sure he gets most things he wants.

My lips are feeling suddenly dry, and when I lick them, he watches my tongue take in the sweet taste of the flavors that had covered them earlier. So after I'm sure he's watching, I lick them again this time a little slower and I bring my lip between my teeth sucking on my lip before I release it. I look up at him under hooded eyes and I take his moment of silence as a sign that I'm doing this right, and that I'm not making a complete fool of my self.

_Yeah, think of what we could've done if you would have called._

But you didn't.

Because you didn't even ask for my number. Or my name.

He's looking at my lip. And I'm feeling warm everywhere. I take my spoon and push another bite into my mouth, licking all of the syrup and left over stickiness off the spoon. I'm practically doing dirty things to this spoon and I'm thinking of him.

_ Funny, I don't even remember getting this bowl. _

But I'm turned on. And by the groan I hear from him, he is too. He looks me up and down again grabbing my hand and making me put the spoon down.

"What kind of perfume do you wear you smell really good?"

What?

Perfume?

After all that, he asks me about my perfume? I narrow my eyes at him. Stupid gorgeous boy.

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><p><strong>Ever taken flirting tips from a movie? Tell me in a review and I'll send you that teaser! <strong>

**Recs: **

**A Change in direction by Jayeliwood**

**Animate me by abstract way**


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